Shireen, reborn from ice, reborn from fire
by kaiidth of ah
Summary: Shireen is fourteen when she dies in the Long Night after living for years at the Wall. She awakens in her seven year old body but with her memories intact. Then she catches fire, dies again and reawakes in the same body but free of all Greyscale scars. But she remembers the Long Night and she will do whatever she can to stop it.
1. Chapter 1

The Wall had fallen three years after her father died in his attempt to free Winterfell.  
She was barely fourteen years old.

They all were slaughtered by the Others.  
She felt the horrible cold entering her body when the weapon of a White Walker pierced her tummy.

Lord Snow though, he saved her from the fate of eternal slavery to these monsters of the Ice and with his last breath and the last bit of strength in his swordsarm, he pushed his Dragonglass dagger into her Heart, like he promised her before.

The last thing that she felt was the tender touch of his lips on her brows.  
It was warm.

Then there was only darkness.

...

...

The air that was surrounding her was warm when she woke up again. She opened her eyes and gasped. She knew this room but it was so long ago that she was in it for the last time.

She lifted her hands. All fingers were there and the hands looked smooth and small and tidy. But the hands that she remembered had missed a small finger, because of frostbite and they had scars on it everywhere.

She stood up and looked down to the bed which she just left. Then she looked around in the room. There was laying a flat box on a small table and she walked over to it.

She opened the box and looked inside. Her eyes grew wet for she remembered. This was the gift that Maester Cressen had given her on the evening before her seventh nameday. She had promised him not to open it not before the morning of her day had begun.

She stood there and looked down into the box and then again lifted her hands and looked at them from all sides.

They were as small again as they were when she was around the age of seven.

Could it really be, was she really this child again. If so, then why? Only to live the same sad life as she did before?

Her hands touched her face, yes her thick dead Stoneskin was there.

She snorted unwillingly, this was all not something that she wanted to relive again. This exclusion from life and the disgust or even worse, the pity of the other people.  
Not again, please not again.

In the last year of her life, she finally felt good about herself and nobody stared at her anymore for they all were too much involved in staying alive. She had liked that feeling, that nobody looked at her with pity or disgust.

The tears were now running freely from her eyes. She wished for nothing more than to be dead, better than to relive all the pain and loss and suffering and to be without loved ones and friends again.

She looked again to her bed and the rest of the room and then sighed deeply. There was nothing to be done, so it seemed. She would suffer through it all again, though maybe she could use this chance to save her father and her other loved ones from their destiny, even if it would make her only more lonely.

Tomorrow she would think about it and how to talk about the future to Cressen and her father and Ser Davos.

She wandered over to the fireplace with the little box in her arms and get down on her knees in front of the slowly fading flames. She took the book out of the box, and then pushed the empty wooden box into the fireplace without care. Her left sleeve caught fire while doing so and before she could even stop it, the fire engulfed her whole body.

She screamed. This was even more painful than the icy sword that ended her first life.

...

...

...  
There were voices near her ear. Voices that talked about a miracle. A hand was touching her face. The left side of her face...how...she never felt it before when she was touched on her left cheek...

She opened her eyes wide and saw that quite a lot of people were in her room.

She stared at them and they stared back at her. She then looked to the person that was still touching her face. It was Maester Cressen and he was crying unashamed, while still stroking her left cheek.

Her own hands got up and touched it and her neck too. Her skin was smooth.


	2. Chapter 2

The Seven had blessed her, that is what everyone was saying now all the time, so they told her at least.

Shireen rather doubted that the Seven that are one healed her after letting her die twice but then again she also didn't tell anyone that she had died.

Her father had found her when she was dying for second time, though he wouldn't ever know it from her that it was the second time.

Her clothing was on fire, they told her and her hair and her stone-turned skin too. Even her good skin started to burn when Lord Stannis rushed to her with blankets and tried to smother the fire. Ser Davos and Cressen too and even Patchface had tried to help.

Patchface hadn't been carefull enough while doing so, he also caught fire on his sleeve and then was starting to burn the same as her before, so they told her.

Shireen asked what then happened and Maester Cressen, who was the one that told her the most, answered her.

"The fire was extinguished on your body but every inch of your skin was burned black and you were dead. It was the second time in my life that i saw your Lord Father crying for when he took your burned corpse in his arms, his tears were falling freely on you.

And then you took a breath and another one and another one and then your breathing turned regular. The blackened skin of your body started to fall from you and under it there was smooth and rosy new skin everywhere. Your father had just left these rooms to order some light meal for you and your mother is praying along with most of the others out of thankfulness."

Dear Cressen smiled while he spoke those words but Shireen frowned. She looked from Cressen to Ser Davos.

"Patchface had been caught on fire too? Poor dear Patches, for it hurts so much. Where is he then, is he also healed?"

No one answered her question though. Finally her dear Onion Knight straightened himself, nodded respectfully to Maester Cressen and then sat himself beside her.

"The poor Fool wouldn't stop burning and when we tried to smother the flames with wet blankets, he pushed himself away from us and ran to the window. There he threw himself out and fell down to stones, burning as he was and when we reached him, his broken body turned to ashes already. I'm sorry."

Shireen believed him, for his words sounded sincere. Was it her fault, she asked herself, had Patches died so she could live again? In her first life, he died nearly a year before her, he had somehow been caught by a hungry bear and they had only found a few pieces of his tattooed skin later on.

But when she first awoke again, was he the price that whatever heald her, had wanted for this wonder? Poor poor Patches. For a long time he had been one of the few people that had never shown any disgust to her. But then again, he himself was an outsider, broken in mind, hurt in body and tattooed in the face as he was. Still, she would miss him and if he really paid for the Wonder of her third life, then she would honor it by living it to the fullest and be useful in it.


	3. Chapter 3

Shireen looked into both the mens faces. They had always been kind and loving to her, as long as they were alive. Poor Cressen had died because of Melisandre and loyal Davos had fought with them at the Wall, till the end.

Was that danger still lurking in the lands of the eternal Winter?  
She shuddered and her hands went to her tummy while she remembered her first death.

In that moment the door opened and her father came inside, followed by her mother. Shireen was taken aback for a moment, she remembered all the years ago when they received the news that her father and his army had fallen into Bolton trappings and had been killed. She remembered her mother losing herself more and more into Melisandre's promises, till she had thrown herself into the flames a year later. Melisandre had left the Wall after that, to search for a new Prince that was promised after Jon Snow had forbidden her to sacrifice Shireen and other children.

Melisandre.

Would she come in this life too?

Shireen decided that she would try her best to save her mother and father from this madness that the Red Priestess brought into her home. From the deaths that were her fault and from the mistrust that she encouraged.

Shireen looked up to her father. He looked different than she remembered him, it was as if he looked pleased. Her mother was standing behind him and she was smiling and crying at the same time. Shireen couldn't remember to have ever before seeing her mother smiling light that.

"Happy nameday, daughter. A new year for you and a new life. "

It was the Year 296 after Aegons Conquest and Shireen Baratheon had seen her mother smiling a real and loving smile for the first time in all her lives.

It was a good nameday gift.


	4. Chapter 4

The next days were awkward for Shireen. Nearly everyone in Dragonstone treated her like some sort of a living embodiment of the Seven-that-are-one. Servants and maids that had given her, as far as she remembered from her first life, always a wide berth, now asked demurely if they are allowed to touch her hands. People from the village upon the Island now asked to see her. A fisherman's wife had even brought her new born baby with her and kneed before Shireen, asking subservient if the young m'lady Shireen might please touch the baby's head and bless him.  
Shireen did it. The woman left with a happy smile and in the next few days every mother of Dragonstone brought her children before the young Lady Baratheon.

Shireen sighed inwardly. She didn't really believed that her returning to live, twice already she sighed exhausted, had anything to do with the Sevens but as long as all others believed it, nobody would whisper of other things.

So she doesn't mention it when even her own mother was treating her more like a living Statue to be worshiped than a living child.  
At least Ser Davos and his sons and Maester Cressen were just happy for her and treated her with the same kindness and love as before.

Her father was nearly unreadable. She had always known that he hadn't believed in the Seven since his own parents died. Shireen also liked to think that he never truly believed Melisandre's whispers in her first life but he also did a lot of horrible things in the name of the Red Lord.

Now though, her father often looked at her as if his world was shattered. He looked at her as if everything that he knew before was gone, as if he was doubting himself. Sometimes he tried even to smile at her. It looked a bit out of place at first but after the first few days the smile looked really nice and natural and he looked at her with love in the eyes.

Barely six days are gone by when a Raven arrives from King's Landing with the command from Uncle Robert that orders the Baratheons of Dragonstone to come to the Court.

It turns out that dear Cressen had send the news of Shireens wonder to King's Landing and Lord Arryn must have then made the King agree to this.

So, a week after Shireen Baratheon died through the flames and then immediately came to life again on her seventh nameday, she left Dragonstone with her father and mother on Ser Davos ship for King's Landing.

They arrived three days later and were welcomed at the docks by a huge crowd of people and Ser Barristan of the Kingsguard.

When Shireen stepped from the ship though, it again turned into an awkward situation. She sighed internally.  
People kneeled before her. Women were holding her children up to her. All looked to the small girl with wonder in their eyes.

Shireen was gradually amused by all this. There had been brought a palanquin for her and her mother and a horse for her father.  
Shireen denied to be carried. She walked to the Red Keep. The People that she passed by, kneeled when they saw her coming. Her father and her mother walked behind her. Ser Barristan was on her right side.

People stared, people bowed their heads, people took to their knees. Shireen smiled and touched hands and baby heads.

'Blessed One', were the shouts and 'Saved One'. 'Loved by the Gods One'.

These were the shouts that were to be heard in the whole City.

The Baratheons of Dragonstone arrived in the Red Keep on foot and bedecked in flowers that the numerous people that they had passed, had thrown on them. All in all, it was a incomprehensible situation for everyone around her.

But then again, Shireen thought, let them believe for that was beneficial for her Plans in the Future.


	5. Chapter 5

The Baratheons of Dragonstone arrived at Gate to the Red Keep on foot, adorned by flowers.

Before Shireen stepped fully through the gate into the Royal Keep though, she stopped and turned around. Many of the smallfolk that had cheered her were still standing there. She looked at them while her parents and and Ser Barristan waited behind her.

Oh why not, thought Shireen to herself, the people liked to cheer so let them cheer her.  
If they wanted that desperately to believe in the blessings of the Seven, she would give them something that they could hold dear.

Shireen took one of the small flower petals that clung to her modest gown, went down the ten steps to the nearest woman that was standing there, a shabby and thin old one it was, and then kissed the flower, gave it to the old woman and spoke kind words.

" May the Mother bless you and the Crone heal your worries as she healed mine."

The old woman looked at her and fell down on her knees while she looked to Shireen, then to the flower that she now carefully grabbed in her old and thin hands and then back at Shireen. She cried. Shireen sighed quietly and then bend to take the next flower from her gown and to repeat it all for others.

A short while this was going on, till no more flowers were left on her. Then Shireen turned around and went back to her family still waiting at the gate.

Behind her the people were crying and shouting her name, thanking her for being so kind and calling her the Maiden come to life. Well, Shireen thought to herself, if that would have been true, she surely now would look prettier and would not still have her Florent ears and her father's jaw.

She arrived by her mother's side, turned around once more and waved a few times back at the people with her left hand before she stepped finally through the Gate and into the Red Keep.

Her father and her mother stared at her, mother with devotion and father with nearly shock. Ser Barristan and others around him looked like they were striked by lightning.  
Shireen desperately held back her giggling at all these unbelieving faces. Let them all think that she believed herself rescued and brought back to life and blessed by the Seven, she would use this all to change the direction of her life.

The Baratheons of Dragonstone were brought to the Throne Hall and before his Grace.

Uncle Robert looked unhappy, thought Shireen, unhappy and already drunk and dirty too. Unkempt hair and wild beard, winesoiled shirt and grease-stained breeches. Her great and famous Uncle, the cuckolded King. Shireen remembered the letter that her father had sent everywhere in her first life.

She looked away from the King and saw the Queen standing beside the Iron Throne with a clear look of distaste and annoyance on her beautiful face. Joffrey the bully was standing beside his mother, staring back at her and her parents with a smirk on his lips.

On the other side of the Iron Throne stood the Hand, Lord Jon Arryn and looked at her and her parents, kneeling in front of the Throne as they were, kindly and with slight curiosity.

"Well niece, the letters were not lying. Nothing more to see from the Greyscale, not even a single scar. Seems the Gods have blessed you, ehh? Fine."

Trust Uncle Robert to be unimpressed when stating the obvious, Shireen thought with amusement.

"If she was really blessed by the Gods, then they should have made her prettier to look at too and not only healed her Greyscale. She is still ugly."

And trust Joffrey to be horrible whenever he opens his mouth.


	6. Chapter 6

Father straightened himself and his angry glare and the tightening of his jaw showed that he would love nothing more than to speak his mind to Joffrey. His eyes showed clearly the disgust about the words.

Mother closed her eyes and pressed her lips together while her former slightly happy glow was gone. She bowed her head a bit deeper after Joffreys words.

Uncle Robert barked that Joffrey would do well to close his mouth and behave himself, while the Queen smirked. Joffrey himself asked his father for forgiveness but he didn't turn his head to ask hers for his cruel words.

Not that Shireen would forgive him anyway. She saw that a bit more in the background Myrcella and Tommen were standing, surrounded by two Septas and a couple other sycophants. She felt sorry for them but this was about her first. She vowed to herself to protect them after this as best as she could.

Shireen looked back to the Throne and saw that the Hand looked at her with sympathy and compassion.

Her father opened his mouth to speak but she decided to clear all the problems by herself.

Her Uncle and her father had never seen eye-to-eye and whatever Stannis Baratheon said or did before, Robert was always more fond of the opposite. Shireen decided for herself that she would not come between them but instead to work on her Uncle independent from her father.

Who would ever believe a small seven namedays old Girl to be anything else than absolutely innocent and with the wish to please everyone.

Shireen's inner fourteen years old and slightly cynical and battle-hardened first life former self was inwardly smirking while the outside face showed only a gentle smile and she widened her eyes to show their bright blue color.

"Don't be angry father, nor be sad dear mother, for Prince Joffrey is of course right, even though his words were harshly spoken.

I am not pretty girl, nor will i ever will become a pretty Woman. That is the truth.  
When i was blessed and healed, the Gods were kind and loving to do so. They must have found my features themselves not unpleasing enough to change them too.  
Maybe they were showing to my dear father and mother that they approved of their marriage with this and that they approved of me, their child with this.

I have features from my father and from my mother, not the most flattering, that is true but my face is what it is. I have the black hair and the blue eyes that all Baratheons had since the founding of our House, the true colors that House Baratheon inherited from the Blood of Argella Durrandon.

That my face is less pleasing than i would wish it to be, is way less important for me as that everyone can see me, look at me and knows my Blood."

Everyone in the Great Hall of the Iron Throne stared at the small girl that just finished speaking.


	7. Chapter 7 Uproar

"What...You dare to imply that my children are not Baratheon enough...?  
What are you saying you missbegoten girl, you ugly jealous little cow, have you lost your mind to imply something like this..? You jealous creature dare to imply that my children are not of... "

The screaming of the Queen sounded extremly loud to Shireen but the murmurings of all the other attendees of the Royal Court still managed to dampen the shrillness of the Queens voice at least a bit.

"BE QUIET WIFE" roared the now standing King from his place on the Throne.

Shireen forced herself to stand still and to open her eyes wide, as wide as she could.  
Look confused, her inner self said and she forced herself to turn around on her feet as if she wasn't even aware of what she said. She looked with wide eyes first to her rigidly standing father and then to her wobbly mother. Then she glanced around, the Hands face was chalkwhite and most of the Courtiers looked from her, to the Queen, to the quickly Thronestairs downcoming King and back to Shireen.

The struggling Queen was held back by her brother, Ser Jamie of the Kingsguard. Cersei Lannisters eyes were hate-filled, her hands were formed like claws and strechted into Shireens direction. She still screeched, called her ugly and hateful and evil little jealous cow.

Joffrey stood slack-jawed near his mother, shock and confusion clearly to see.

Ser Barristan, who was standing near Shireen, looked down to her, whitefaced and resigned at the same time.

Finally her Uncle was down from the Throne and arrived in front of her.

He looked annoyed to the side and at his still screaming Queen.

"KINGSLAYER, SHUT YOUR SISTER UP."

He then turned back to his niece. King Roberts hands grabbed Shireen and hoisted her up, so that she dangeld in the air. Her face was now at the same height as his was. Behind her, she heard the protest of her father. Shireen turned not around though, instead she forced herself to stay wide-eyed while she looked back into the King's eyes.

"I am sorry your Grace, i meant nothing bad by it. I am .._gulp_...i am not sure what i said that was so bad though. I would like to look like your children of course, or to become such a pretty Woman as the Queen of course but they are purely Lannister. All golden haired and emerald eyes, everyone of them. And all so pretty too.

I have mothers ears and fathers jaw and the only good things about me are the Baratheon-blue eyes and the hair color that you and father and Uncle Renly share with me. Oh and with Uncle Renly's ward too. Cousin Edric. I met him last year in Storm's End and he told me that he is your Bastard.

Father says it is not good to make Bastards and Mother was against it that i played with Cousin Edric, though he was nice to me and was not afraid even though i had my Greyscale scars back then. I would have enjoyed playing with him and he looked so much like you, well his ears were more like mine though...

Uncle, i mean Your Grace, did i say something bad again? You are looking so angry at me...Uncle, i mean Your Grace, your hands are holding me too tight, it hurts me..._whimpering sound..._"

Inwardly Shireen felt triumphant. Uncle Roberts eyes had grown large during her rambling and his mouth had thined to a angry line. After she whimpered though, he put her into her father's arms who immediately clutched her tight to his shoulder. Her mother touched her cheek gently while Shireen forced herself to look confused and frightened at the same time.

All eyes in the Hall were turned towards the King who was snarling red-faced into the direction of his wife.

Lord Arryn stepped to the Kings side and he looked still shocked and white of face.

"DID YOU HEAR WHAT MY NIECE JUST SAID WIFE? WHY DO YOU CALL HER A LIAR FOR JUST STATING A FACT?"

Well, Shireen thought, Uncle Roberts shouting voice could certainly be heard even outside of the Red Keep. She squirmed slightly in her father arms and wiggled so much that she managed to escape his grip. Before he could take hold of her again though, she managed to run the few steps to her fat Uncle. She grabbed his shirt and clutched his left hand with her own as if she was deeply afraid and intimidated by everyone around her.

" Your Grace, i am sorry that i made you angry. I really didn't mean to do so. Surely it is not Joffrey's fault that he looks so much like his Uncle as if Ser Jamie was his father himself."

Uncle Roberts eyes grew even more angry at her words and the murmuring in the Hall turned into speculating words.

Ser Jamie looked shocked for just a moment and then his right hand let go of his sister and fingered his sword instead.

Queen Cersei's screaming and screeching for her to shut up was now accompanied by Joffreys angry shouts that Shireen should take back her lies and shut her ugly mouth.

Uncle Robert roared  
"**SILENCE DAMMIT**"

The Lord Hand and father himself stepped to Uncle Roberts side. Father opened her clutching hands and the King patted her head. Then he stormed forward and stopped in front of his still angrily screaming wife and slapped her so hard that she fell down to the floor.

**"I SAID SILENCE, DAMN WOMAN"**

It seemed to Shireen that Uncle Robert was right now just not able to not shout the whole time. She forced herself to look more frightend and confused while she clutched her father's hand with both of her own.

Then she tilted her head upwards and looked from her father to her Uncle and then to the Lord Hand. Her eyes grew wet and her lips wobbled when she opened them.

"Was it that bad what i said?"

...

_Shireen is laying it thick here and a will do so too in the future but I want to remind all readers why she behaves as such. _

_Shireen is a fourteen year old girl that died at first through an ice sword after living for years at the Wall, then wakes up in her seven year old body with all her memories of her first life intact. Then the seven year old body catches fire and she dies again only to wake up in a seven year old body again and healed from all Greyscale scars and still with all the memories of her first life plus with a bit of cynical view on all that happens around her._

_The fact of her being healed from the Greyscale scars, dying for it to happen and the fact of her then resurrection AT her SEVENTH nameday leads to all Sevener believers now thinking of her as tested by the gods and then blessed by them._

_Shireen is just now testing how far she can go. And she wants stuff to be done as soon as possible. There is still the danger of the long Night lurking behind the Wall._

_Cersei had in Canon way more survival instinct at that time and she had also a way better grip on the situation during that time in Canon and before, that is true._

_But then she also wasn't confronted in Canon like that by a small child, blessed by gods as it was said even at Court, who is just innocently stating facts. She was totally surprised by that and lost her composure because this little girl just wouldn't stop talking._


	8. Chapter 8 Shireen 's thoughts

I have said too much too soon, she thought to herself.  
Jon Snow had mentioned during her first year living at the Wall that Lord Eddard Stark's children nearly all had the colors of Lady Catelyn, only the middle child had the Stark colors.

The Queen would certainly try to be dismissive of all the things that were laid out in the open before everyone, as soon as she had recovered from the shock of hearing these words. Surely the Queen would do her best to make sure that the King would not believe that he was cuckolded.

Father had mentioned in the letters that she had seen so many years ago on Dragonstone, that there was a book about all important families and how they looked, how every single Child looked.

She would need to get hold of this Book and soon too. The Great Enemy beyond was only a few years away from being powerful enough. Shireen shuddered slightly.

Not again the life and the death that she already had lived through. No, it was good that she started with the hardest and most trickiest part in the first place.

The sooner the inner problems of the Kings family and Children were known and then solved, the sooner they all could concentrate on stopping the Great Enemy and the other Problems that arised during her last couple of years of her first life.

Shireen looked up, everyone was staring at her unbelievingly after her last question.

They were surely irritated by her, she thought to herself, better be careful to not sound older than her years.

Hmmmm, maybe mentioning that she had dreamed of many Cousins through Uncle Roberts seed, bastard Cousins that all looked like Baratheons, would work. Blessed child, send dreams by the Mother and the Maiden...if that might sound believable enough.?

"I am sorry if i had hurt anyone with my words, it is just that since i was blessed with the healing and the new life, i always dream of many Cousins with my Colors. Are they like Edric?"


	9. Chapter 9 The Queen doesn't forgive

Lord Jon Arryn closed his eyes as if he was in deep pain and tried not to show it after hearing the words of Shireen Baratheon. He opened them again with a hard pressed sigh. The words that the girl spoke so openly and with childish innocence, would bring them all only headaches and trouble, more trouble than the Kingdom would really not need.

The Lord Hand looked to his King, who was just staring at the little daughter of his brother with a shocked look upon his face. Robert Baratheons mouth hung stunned open and he looked from his little niece to his brother and then to his Hand. Finally his eyes landed back on his niece again.

"Girl, do you even know what you just said, what you just had said into my face? You just told me, your own Uncle and King, that my Children look nothing like me but my bastard boy does and that you have dreamed of more bastards that i have. Which i do not know about of course."

The King spoke to his niece, shook his head unbelievingly and then turned his head without wanting to hear an answer to his question, to where his wife was helped up from the floor by her brother. The Queen's cheek showed a red handprint from where her husband slapped her hard enough to let her loose her footing just moments ago.

Prince Joffrey tried to speak but the King told him to shut up and that he was not interested to hear anything else now from children.

The Queen looked up with a bitter look on her face, she started to snarl at her husband when she noticed him looking at her after he forbade his son to speak.

King Robert turned back to his niece. He looked down at her and she was looking up to him with wide eyes of the same color as his own. He looked up to his brother and to that ugly wife of his but both were staring at their daughter like she was someone that they had never known before.

Robert Baratheon looked back down and the little girl gave a helpless smile in return.

"Your Grace, i am sorry for all that i had said and that it hurt you and angered the Queen so much. I am also really sorry that i hurt my dear royal Cousins, the Queens children with my words. I really did not wanted to hurt them. I do not know why i told my dreams here, i am really deeply sorry for saying things like about Edric and others here."

King Robert closed his eyes. This girl made him feel really uncomfortable.

Shireen looked then over to where the Queen stood, proud and snarling and undefeated like a lioness.

"I am sorry my Queen that my words were the reason that you are now hurting. I did not wanting that to happen, i want nothing bad to happen to you or your children."

Little Shireen Baratheon bowed her head to the Queen while she spoke those words. Queen Cerseis snarling got only more angry as reaction.

She looked to her husband, unafraid as it seemed, her brother had now stepped away from her and the Queen straightened herself while she spoke then with a clear and loud voice.

"I do not accept an apology for the madness of your disgusting lies that you just uttered here. Cleary you were touched in the head by your illness before and even though your scars are gone on the outside, what ever is wrong in your head is still there. Even a girl with your cleary lacking upbringing and even as young as your are, should know how to behave in the society of your betters.  
By trying to lift yourself up above your Station by holding it against the Princes's and the Princess, that they have not the coloring of the King but of me their mother, you show cleary that your parents did not bring you up as a proper young Lady. You are not welcome here at the Royal Court."

The Queen ended her merciless words with an raised eyebrow while looking from Shireen to Selyse Baratheon. It was as if she wanted to show to the girls mother what she thought of her.

Clearly the Queen was already trying in her prideful way, to forget that just a few moments ago, she herself had behaved herself in a way that showed quite a lot more bad behavior, with all her screaming and disgusting words, than the King's niece could ever show with her nearly taunting but still innocently spoken words.

The Queen cleary being dismissive about the apology was not something that stilled the voices of the Courtiers and Ladys of the Court. Quite the opposite actually, the murmuring grew louder. In a dark corner a Spider lurked with a dangerous interest and not far from the Spider there was a Mockingbird that narrowed his calculating eyes.

The Lord Hand finally ended all that spectacle with firm words.

" Your Grace, with your permission, i would like to speak with you and Lord Baratheon in private. Cleary young Shireen was so excited about all that happened during the last weeks in her life and so exhausted by the journey that her mouth spoke words that her mind is cleary not meant to even think about in her young age.

We all should end the audience and find some calmness for the rest of the day."

As whenever a situation was needed to be brought to an end by calm spoken words, the King completely trusted his Hands advice and agreed with Lord Arryn.

The Royal Courtiers and Ladys were dismissed and King Robert went away with his Hand and former Fosterfather and with his unloved brother.

The Queen gave a sharp command to her sycophants to follow her and went away as proud as a Lioness on a hunt with her children following her. Prince Joffrey turned once back to Shireen with clear hatred to be seen on his face before he then followed his mother.

Shireen hadn't seen the faces of Myrcella and Tommen and it made her heart clench painfully while thinking about how much her words must have hurt the two younger children.


	10. Chapter 10 A plotting Queen

Lord Jon Arryn lead his King and Lord Baratheon of Dragonstone of to the Tower of the Hand and in there upstairs to the private Solar.

King Robert panted when he arrived there but Lord Stannis didn't even seem to have acknowledged that there had been stairs, so much he had been brooding if his scowling face was to be judged correctly.

In the Hand's Solar, the King let himself fall in the nearest armchair and then gladly accepted the cup of wine from Lord Arryns hands. Lord Stannis stood rigid till Lord Jon asked him to seat himself too and did so after the Hand took seat himself.

All three men were silent for a few moments. The Lords Arryn and Baratheon stared at each other while the King emptied the wine and then belched. Lord Stannis grinded his teeth at his brothers lack of good behavior while Lord Jon just refused to even notice it.

The King set down his empty cup on a small table by his side and then was the first to speak.

"So Stannis, this little Girl of yours lived with Greyscale, suddenly burns by accident, dies and then is reborn without Greyscale on her seventh nameday the morning after she burned to death. That is what Cressen wrote at least. Then this Girl is seen by everyone as blessed by the Sevens, hells if I know if that is true but why not.

Then you and this wife of yours arrive with your little blessed Girl in my Keep and the first thing that said does is bringing unrest into my Halls by mentioning that my children do not have any of our family hair and eyecolors. Something that everyone knows. Then your little Girl is making my life more miserable than it already is by making me listen to my damned wife's screeching and if that is not enough tells in front of everyone of these spitlickers in the Hall that she dreamed of Edric and others like him, meaning more of Bastards of mine, right?

What the Seven Hells was this all about Stannis, tell me. Cersei is annoying enough on the average days and after this she will only make my life more miserable with all the poison and bile spitting from her mouth."

Stannis Baratheon looked at his brother first and then at the Hand and a few moments later at his brother again. His face looked like it was fixed in a permanent scowl right then and he likely had grinded his teeth nearly to dust by the tense look of his jaw. He sat himself even more rigidly before he then started to speak.

"Shireen burned really to death in the night before her seventh nameday, i was one of the few that tried to smother the flames, Ser Davos was with me and my Daughters fool. The fool caught fire himself and threw himself through the window and fell onto the the Stones outside and burned to ashes. Shireen burned even though we tried everything to stop it, from smothering the flames with wet blankets up to dump endless buckets of water on her. She burned till her whole body was burned black. She died screaming. The fire had not spread to anything other than the Fool and the furniture and rug was not even slightly singed. I laid my Daughter unto her bed, my wife went into the Sept and a few hours later when the day, that would have been the seventh nameday of my Daughter, begun so did the Shireens new life. The blackened skin cracked open and healthy, light pink skin was under it.

The blackened skin felt off of her and everything was healthy, all the Greyscale scars were gone too and she was alive again. My wife and everyone else seemed to think that it was a wonderous healing send by the Gods.

She was cheered for by the smallfolk in the streets, she was giving blessings herself and the people thanked her with tears for it. Shireen seems generally to believe it herself that this is a blessing by the Seven.

I do not had known that she dreamed of your bastard and more of his likes till she said it so in the Throne Hall."

Silence.

Finally Lord Arryn spoke about what should be happening now.

The King gave his answer in one short command.

"Bring all my bastards to the Red Keep, find everyone. I want to see them all and then, if really all look like me, i want answers from my wife. Find out if there ever before have been marriages between our House and the damned Lions, you both know that i for sure never cared about learning stuff like that. If there were, what colors did the Children have?

Then, i will talk with my wife and consequences be damned if there is something not right with my heirs."

Stannis Baratheon and Jon Arryn looked at each other. If there was really something dubious going on with the Queen and the children, it would be treason. Tywin Lannister would not accept that fall from power for his daughter though.

This all could mean War.

... ...

... ...

Cersei Lannister rushed into her chambers, followed by her brother Ser Jaime of the Kingsguard.

Joffrey wanted to follow but Queen Cersei commanded the Hound to accompany the Prince to his lessons. Both her son and his sworn sword looked at the Queen as if she had lost her mind but she cared not.

"Joffrey, you will soon be King and you must attend your lessons. Right now the Hound will go with you to one of the separated smaller courtyards and will train you more, so that you will be the best fighter in the Seven Kingdoms when you are King."

The Queen then ushered her oldest son out of her rooms and also gave order that her Ladies should care for the younger Children. The best would be if all Ladies would accompany the Princess and the youngest Prince along with their Septas to the Royal Sept and pray that the evil and mad tongue of Stannis Baratheons get would cease to sprout lies about innocent people.

After all were finally gone, she locked the doors behind her and stared at her twin.

"Sweet Sister, you are giving the people only more reason to wag their tongues with what you just did. Or do you really think that all of them are so true to us that none would tell the fat stag or the dour one, that we are alone in your rooms and you locked the door.?"

"Do not speak to me like that Jaime, i am your Queen and you will be respectful to me, will you not?"

"How long do you believe to stay Queen when your husband really starts to believe the rambling of the little wonderchild.? Tell me sweet Sister, how do you think that you keep your Crown when all the people that still hate us start to search for more clues.?"

Cersei stared at her brother after he uttered these words. She felt herself being slighted by his words. Was it not her that had shown Jaime the way to flee from his hated obligations as the heir and to be with her instead. Well, she was the wife of the wrong King, Rhaegar should have been her husband and not this fat whoremonger that she was instead married too but Jaime was here with her, as he always wanted.

"You will have to find a way for Robert to die, now, as soon as possible. This ugly little whore and her teethgritting father should have an accident too, that would be for the best. As soon as Joffrey is King, the sheeps will see that he will be a better King than Robert ever was and i will be regent for as long as he needs my guiding hand."

Jaime looked astonished at her after spoke those words. Then his lips twisted slightly amused upwards and he shook his head in disbelief.

"Cersei, how do you think that everyone would react if the Stag King would die right now after the little chit talked the Court into a frenzy. How many men would i have to kill right now to make your plan to happen?"  
Ser Jamie looked at his sister beseechingly while he uttered those words.

Queen Cersei though looked calculating at her brother. He would kill for her, that she knew without a doubt and as many as needed to die. She looked at her twin, her mirror. He had given her perfect children, golden and bright and pure Lions.

How dared that little misbegotten thing, this crippled twig of a girl, that crawled out from the dried-up cunt of her skinny, jug-eared and beardwearing nutcase of a mother, to even open her shameless and rude mouth in the society of her betters.

Cersei looked again at her beautiful brother and knew that he would do what she wanted.

"First this Girl and her father both have to die, Robert will be the next one though. Let me tell you of my plans dearest brother."

...

...

Lady Selyse Baratheon accompanied her daughter when the Court was dismissed and Lord Stannis left with the Hand and the King.

Shireen had asked to be shown to the Gardens and a Courtier had been so kind to do so. Now both Baratheon Ladys were slowly wandering upon the garden ways and Shireen often stopped to look more interested at some prettily blossomed flowers. Sadly enough, she was not really interested in talking with her own mother though. Selyse never knew what to made out of the behavior of her only child anymore, she just didn't understand her.

A fat looking person came nearer to them. The fat and odd looking man was wearing long silken robes and had a secretive but pleasant expression on his Face.

He greeted both Lady Selyse and Shireen pleasantly, his manners showing him to be a perfect embodiment of a man of the Court. Shireen though, answered him not in the same easy grace and good manners but only looked up at him.

The man that had called himself Varys, had at first made pleasant conversation with the Lady Selyse but soon grew more and more uncomfortable inwards for then the well mannered facade of Lord Varys behavior threatend to crumble rapidly away under young Lady Shireens stares.

Finally he bowed again to both of the Ladys and took his leave.

He shook his head as soon as that he was far enough away from the Barathons. This young Lady Shireen actually had managed to make he himself feel uncomfortable. Lord Varys then decided for himself to have his little birds shadow the little Dragonstone Lady. There was something not right about her and he would find out what that was.


	11. Chapter 11 Priests of R'hollor

**Asshai**  
Melisandre sat down in front of R'hllors gift.  
Her eyes were drawn to the high roaring fire and she concentrated to see the Visions that her beloved God send her.

She saw a Dragon no, many Dragons, made of Stone and clinging to each other. Their numerous bodies together were formed like a Castle and this Castle was standing on an small Island.

The Dragons seemed clearer and purer that any Vision she had ever had before. Melisandre was excited, she could see that every Dragon looked different. Some of them were sleek and some were robust, many were small and some were huge and quite a lot were of medium size for what she knew of normal Dragons of the Times of Old.

The flames crackled when Melisandre leaned even closer to her God's gift. One of the Dragons, one of the small ones, looked away from its brethens and seemed to stare back at the Red Priestess. Melisandre was fascinated, her left hand got closer and she was nearly touching the flame.

The little Dragon detached itself completely from its siblings, it opened its little wings and flew away from the Tower it formed with its own and the other Dragons bodys. The other Dragons shuffled closer together to close the hole that the small one opened.

The little Dragon was flying away from the Vision of Island in the flames and flew closer and closer to the borders of the flames. As it approached, it also became bigger, from the tiny thing in the Walls of the Tower on the Island, to a size that now filled the fire completely. Melisandres fingers were now touching the flames then she could touch a scaly head.

The Red Priestess gasped. Her Visions had never been before become so real. She pulled her hand away but something incredible happened then, for the scaly head followed her fingers. Melisandre looked fascinated at the head of the Dragon that now was halfway out of the flames. More and more the head pushed out of the flames, an elegant neck and body followed, long wings fluttered rapidly upwards and finally the tail was out too. R'hllors gift of the Vision of the Island disappeared while the Dragon hovered above the fire but the priestess doesn't even realize it, for she was too fascinated by the Dragon itself.

Now she could see that the whole Dragon was black, it looked like the skin was made from smooth stone though but this stoney skin was now cracking open in the air. Everywhere there were cracks to see on the Dragon, even on the still fluttering Wings.

Tiny pieces then started to fall off the floating Dragon and every piece of Stoney skinflakes burned in the Air and was reaching the floor as ashes.

The whole room was now unbelievingly hot, it nearly was unbearable, even for the Red Priestess but she didn't even acknowledge it. She was too fascinated by the Dragon that shed itself more and more rapidly of its stony outerlayer.

Finally it was completely renewed, the wings were now leathery and the rest scaly and the Dragon now landed in front of Melisandre. She smiled at the creature that was now standing on the floor, it reached now a bit more than waist-high in comparison to her. It could not see the smile though, for its eyes were still closed, but it surely would open them soon.

The Red priestess kneeled before the Dragon, so that her head was at the same level as the Scaly's one. She smiled and touched the head again, now with both hands and with a wondrous expression on her beautiful face. The little Dragon growled and hissed a bit but accepted easily the petting from the Priestess.

Melisandre touched and petted the scaly head, her hands now going from the top to the lower parts of the scaly head. The scales on the left side of the jaw felt different than on the right side, nearly like cold stone, while the rest felt like warm scales.

The Red priestess tugged gently at the skin of the left side, while she petted reassuringly the right side to calm the Dragon down. Surely this was the last few pieces of the outer stone skin, the priestess said to herself and she must help the Dragon to be free of it. That must be R'hllors will and wish.

The bits of cold stone just wouldn't come off, no matter how hard she now tugged and while the priestess was fully concentrated on the left side, she didn't see that the small Dragon fletched its talons. Melisandre now looked closer to the stony skin parts and as she leaned so close that her breath mingled with the huffing one of the Dragon, she suddenly felt something entering her back.

_**SHE SCREAMED**_ and screamedandscreamed...

A small but powerful jaw opened quickly and then snapped shut around her throat and ripped it open. The Ruby that the Priestess always was wearing around her neck was swallowed with the first jawful of blood and flesh.

The screaming stopped and the small Dragon starts to feast. The now rapidly aging Corpse of the Red Priestess was the first meal of the Dragon in this World outside of the fire. And while it was eating its fill, the last pieces of stony skin finally fell of and was landing as ashes on the floor.

The little Dragon opend its jaws again and then restarted the flames that the Priestess watched before with its own firey breath.

It finally opened the eyes. They were blue.

**Volantis, the Red Temple  
**  
The Flame of Truth, High Priest Benerro stepped away from the all-knowing flames and looked over his shoulder to the only other occupant of the room.

Moqorro looked still into the fire but then he too looked away. Both men's eyes met and the High Priest nodded to the other one.

The little priestess in Asshai had been a good sacrifice.

The two Red Priests left the private room of Visions and closed the door behind them.

They should have looked back, for in the eternal flames, two blue eyes followed their every move.


	12. Chapter 12 What happens in Storm's End

Maester Jurne couldn't find rest anymore. He hadn't really slept since the first cracks in his worldview appeard eleven days ago.

He remembered how he had been in the Ravenry to send the yearly letter from Edric Storm to the King, the letter that the boy was allowed to send to thank the King for his namedays gift.

While the Maester had fitted the Raven to the Red Keep with its little package, the Tower had suddenly felt like it shook slightly. Maester Jurne had stopped tying the package around the Ravens leg for a moment, leaned down, then leaned out of the Ravenrys window and looked down, saw nothing and then had raised his eyebrows for a moment. He had then finished tying the package laces around the birds leg and send the Raven off to the Red Keep. At that night, during the evening meal he only drank water, for he had then believed that the shaking of the Tower he had felt earlier was because he had indulged too much in the alcoholic beverages. Nobody else had mentioned anything about feeling that the Tower shook, so he must be the only one and that could only be because he had drunk too much before.

The next morning though, ten days ago could not be excused with an after effect of drunkenness . The Maester had been in the Round Hall, with the Castellan of Storm's End, Ser Cortnay Penrose and a couple of other high standing servants of House Baratheon. They were waiting for their Lord to finally arrive in the Hall, so that the first petitioners could be brought into the Round Hall and before the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands. It was as always a long waiting for the young Lord Renly was a charming but not hard working man.

So, the Hall was then occupied by around twenty men, none of them in any way especially superstitious but instead calm and efficient men. That changed at that morning, for in the Round Hall stood the Old Throne of the Storm Kings that still was used the Lord Paramounts when they felt so inclined.

The moment that young Lord Renly finally had arrived into the Hall and then stepped towards the Throne and touched it on the armrest, the unbelievable had happened.  
The Grand old throne had broken apart in front of their eyes and under the elaborately carved old grey Stone Throne there was a sleeker one, black and wet looking, a black oily Stone Throne, that looked like nothing anyone had ever seen before. The young Lord Paramount had been flung backwards to the far away walls of the Hall when the Grey Throne broke apart and had been unconscious since then.

Everyone of the twenty rational and calm men left the Round Hall that morning with a feeling of dread while they carried their Lord out and brought him then to the Maester's Room.

For ten days now, Lord Renly was still unconscious, no matter what Maester Jurne tried, for ten days now more and more things happened in Storm's End, that nobody could understand or find a reason for.

Nine days ago, the first carved signs appeared in the Stones of the outer Walls, eight days ago the carvings doubled on the outer Walls and the first also appeared on the inner Walls. Seven days ago, first old carvings appeard on the outside and the inside of the Tower. Six days ago, Edric Storm had run screaming outside at night and had to be put to sleep by a triple as normal amount of Sleepwine. Five Days ago the first carvings started to glow at night. Four days ago all carvings started to glow at night. Three days ago, the carvings wouldn't stop glowing even during the day. Two days ago, the mysterious black Stone Throne had started to ...vibrate.  
One day ago, the drumming in the deep had begun.

Maester Jurne hadn't found much of a sleep during these last ten days, others at least tried to but after the drumming had begun nobody even tried anymore to sleep not even with Sleepwine.

The Maester of Storm's End had tried to send Ravens to the King, the Citadel or other Keeps but none of the Ravens left the Ravenry. They only looked at the helpless Maester but none of them even spread their wings, no matter what he tried.

The Castellan had tried to send Outriders but none of the horses could be saddled without great problems and if finally one was ready, the Horse would not step outside of the Gate of Storm's End. The Riders whipped their horses bloody, they tugged and shoved but the horses could not be forced to put even one hoof outside of the Gate for ten days.

Other animals from outside of the Keep didn't enter. No matter what the people tried, the animals could not be forced to change their way.

Then all changed at this morning. The Maester didn't understand what happened but after ten days now, all the Ravens left the Ravenry at once, all flew in the same direction though, to King's Landing. The Horses would start neighing and tried to leave their stables and birds that had stayed outside for ten days, now flew again over the Walls of Storm's End and sang wonderfully.

The carvings were now glowing brightly though, day and night and the drumming felt like a heartbeat, so it vibrated in the hearts and heads of the people of Storm's End.

Lord Renly was still unconscious though, his squire the young Loras Tyrell sat by his one side and Lord Renly's ward, the Kings bastard Edric Storm sat by his other side.

Maester Jurne looked outside of the Ravenry, his eyes were tired and deep-seated and he had black rings around them for his lack of sleep but for the first time in ten days he found himself a bit hopeful. At least the Ravens had left the Keep with his messages, maybe there was a Solution and Explanation to be found in the Capital City.  
Maybe.  
Hopefully.

In his and everyone else's head, the drumming from below felt and sounded like a heartbeat. Their own heartbeats were starting to follow the rythym and the carvings and signs on the Walls glew even brighter.


	13. Chapter 13 Tea in the Night

The rest of the afternoon that Shireen spent in the Gardens with her mother were restful and they even get acquainted with old Lady Stokeworth and her nice but not quite normal grown-up daughter Lollys. Lady Stokeworth asked Selyse if she and Shireen would like to be accompanied to the Sept later in the evening and the Lady Baratheon readily agreed.

The evening meal was a private affair for Shireen and her parents, they all three took it together in the Solar of Stannis, in the Quarter of the Master of the Ships.

It was the first Night that Shireen and her father and mother would spent in the Red Keep. Her mother urged her to pray with her in the private Royal Sept but Shireen refused her mother's wish by lying that she felt so tired that she would likely fell asleep during prayer and that she wouldn't want to shame herself and her mother by doing so infront of the Gods and so Lady Selyse went alone to meet with the Stokeworths.

Her father had accompanied her and her mother to the Quarters of the Master of Ships, his function at the Royal Court, had eaten there with them and then wanted to made himself ready to go to bed but soon after Selyse went to prayer with Lady Stokeworth, Stannis Baratheon was summoned to meet with the King and the Hand again. Shireen felt her father's thoughtful gaze on her but she smiled innocently at him and then yawned loudly and bid her father a good night and that the work would not take too long to get done with the other men.

Shireen then left the Solar of her father and went into the bedroom next door. She took off her footwear and the outmost layer of her clothing and then laid down in the bed. Stannis Baratheon meanwhile followed the servant that was sent to him by Lord Arryn and looked slightly relieved when he saw that outside of his rooms Ser Barristan Selmy was standing as Guard.

"His Grace sent me, with your permission of course Lord Baratheon, he and the Lord Hand thought it better that Lady Shireen might be guarded by me." was the Kingsguards explanation for him being in front of Lord Stannis's door.

Stannis Baratheon nodded, explained that his daughter took to bed and then followed the Servant to the King's meeting. Ser Selmy was not the only person that watched the Lord of Dragonstone leaving though, for the Walls in the Red Keep had eyes and ears everywhere after all.

The stern Lord Baratheon had barely left the hallway and already a short while later a servant came up to the door in front of which the Kingsguard stood. The female servant was carrying a heavy looking and rather big serving tray which was covered by a linen cloth and asked Ser Baristan to please let her through the door to Lord Stannis room, for she claimed to bring the wished for food to Lady Shireen. The White Knight looked sceptical but opened the door behind himself and let the servant enter but he followed the woman inside into the room.

Ser Barristan then stepped over to the door of the bedroom and knocked softly on it.

"Lady Shireen, a servant brought a tray full with food and Tea, she said that you asked for it." he spoke loud enough to heard through the closed door.

No answer came. Ser Barristan waited for a few moments and then repeated his words and his knocking. Still no answer came.

The Knight and the Servant waited for a few moments and then the Kingsguard repeated his actions for three more times. After there still came no answer, he gave up with his caution and tried to open the door to the bedroom but found it locked.

Ser Barristan sighed and told the Servant to leave the tray on a nearby standing table and then to leave the room. The woman was rather reluctant to do so and started to argue that the Knight should once more try to wake up the little Lady Shireen. The servant behaved way to unservant like in Ser Barristans opinion but then he reminded himself that this woman was one of the many servants that came with the Queen and they all seemed and behaved rather arrogant.

Before the White Knight could once again knock on the bedroom door, said door opened slightly and the young and smooth face of Shireen Baratheon peeked out.

"I was sleeping Ser Barristan, was something the matter to wake me up?"

Ser Barristan shoved the servant with the tray slightly forward and answerd that the woman brought the food and Tea that she, Lady Shireen had asked for herself.

Shireens eyes swept over the tray-carrying servant and then to the White Knight.

"Neither father nor mother nor i myself asked for more food or Tea to be sent from the kitchen, for we all already had eaten our evening meal." was Shireens answer.

"At least keep the Tea m'lady, the food i take back but drinking Tea is always good. Believe me m'lady." the servant was not shy in offering her opinion.

Shireen's eyes narrowed at the woman's words but then she smiled innocently at the servant.

"If you think so. Please set the tray then down and give me some Tea."

The women followed young Shireen's wish and did so. She then filled a cup with the hot and sweet smelling Tea and gave it to the young Baratheon Lady. Shireen smiled sweetly and took the cup in both of her hands and warmed her fingers on it. She brought the Cup near her face and sniffed the sweet smell of the drink.

The servant in the meanwhile stepped to the outer door and curtsied and then tried to leave the room.

"Ser Barristan, would you please stop the servant from leaving the room and bring her back to in front of me and make her take a seat." asked the Lady Shireen

The Knight looked startled at that request of the child but did what was asked of him and brought the servant back to the table were the tray was laid on and by which side the Baratheon child was standing, still holding the Cup in both hands.

"Please take a seat, these chairs are quite comfortable." said Shireen to the woman.

The servant looked startled and at the same time afraid.

"Ser Barristan, would you please make this servant sit down in this chair near the table." asked Shireen of the Knight.

He followed the young Lady's wish and shoved the female servant gently but resolutly down onto the offered chair.

Shireen was in front of the woman and offered her the Cup that she still hold in her hands.

"Drink. For Tea is always a good idea. Drink." Shireen ordered the woman.

The servant tried desperately to not follow the order with all kinds of words and denials and tears.

Finally Shireen asked the Kingsguard to force the reluctant servant to drink the Tea.  
Ser Barristan looked unhappy to do so but he really forced the helpless but heavily struggling woman to swallow down the now cool Tea, he forced her to completely empty the Cup.

Then he looked slightly enraged to the Baratheon child that was standing there, looking sad but determined herself.

The servant woman was crying heavily, rocking on the chair and praying loudly to the gods.

The Kingsguard looked shocked at the woman's behavior.

"How long till the poison works?" asked Shireen the sobbing woman with sympathy in her young Voice clearly to hear. Ser Barristans eyes looked first confused but then they cleared to anger after listening the question and he looked from Shireen to the Servant to the tray and back to Shireen. The White Knight swallowed heavily down the bile that he felt rising in his throat.

But the servant only cried and then she fell down from the chair into a heap and started to shake horribly, blood coming from her mouth, for she bit into her tongue while shaking and finally the poor woman died, barely half an hour after she was forced to swallow the Tea.

Shireen sighed.  
"Poor woman, what a horrible way to die."

Ser Barristan looked ill at her words. They both knew that this Tea and this way to die had been meant for Shireen.

"How did you know my Lady?" asked the Knight.

"The gods seemed to favor me and sent me a dream." was Shireens answer.

And Ser Barristan Selmy nodded.

...

Author's note:  
Don't worry, this will not be Shireen's normal way to deal with all things and all people, she is just exhausted and still running high on anger and fear at the same time when it comes down to a live or death situation for her. Remember, she died and was reborn, died again and was reborn again not even two weeks ago. Give her time to find a resemblance to normal childhood again, right now her mind is clearly more a calculating and pissed off Teenager.


	14. Chapter 14 Dragonstone and the Red Keep

The Baratheons had barely left the shore of the island of Dragonstone when the first little crack appeared.

Nobody saw it though, it was a stone gargoyle where that happened and nobody looked closer at the stone Gargoyles.

Around that time in which the Baratheons of Dragonstone arrived in King's Landing and then were received by the King, there were cracks in all stone Gargoyles and in a lot of the Dragon decor in and on the Castle of Dragonstone.

Still, nobody noticed it because nobody looked closer.

When many hundred miles away the little Lady Shireen watched a servant woman dying because of a poison that was meant for Lady Shireen herself though, that was the time that the differences in Dragonstone became noticeable.

It was the fault of the dragon claws that normaly held the torches but now all the torches were thrown unto the floor and the claws had sharpened and longer talons on them. The claws actually tried to grab people walking by.

It was a horrendous situation, these torchholders were everywhere in the Keep of dragonstone and people were afraid of going anywhere inside the Keep.

All the people currently residing in Dragonstone did flee, even Maester Cressen.

And more and more of the Stone became alive.

...

...

Meanwhile, in the Red Keep

...

Barristan PoV

There was something not right with the daughter of Lord Stannis Baratheon.

She was so calm through all that what just had happened and looked resigned and sad but neither shocked nor afraid. Was it because the Gods already changed her life, that she just was not afraid in such a situation of close death?

He had heard what the people of King's Landing had been shouting when the Baratheons of Dragonstone or to make that more clear, when the young Lady Shireen had walked by. That she asked her parents and all that were send by the King to walk from the Harbor to the Red Keep, that this little noble Girl was not afraid to walk through the streets and showed everyone that she was healed, that simple gesture had made all the people shout her name.

That she then took all the flowers that had been thrown at her and kissed them and gave them away with a blessing for each of the simple people that received one, that made the population shout her name louder than Barristan had ever heard before in his life.

And now, this same girl looked calm while a woman died in front of her. Died through the poison that was meant for the little girl herself. Died because this little girl asked Barristan to force the women to drink the poisoned tea.

Ser Barristan felt uncomfortable, poison was something that felt not honest to him. It was a way to murder people without giving them a chance. He looked to the little Lady Shireen and wondered if the Gods sent her such a horrible dream about the poison, that the real situation seemed harmless to her and made her thus behave like she did.

What else did the Gods to her beside to heal her? Whould she be warned of every danger?

Ser Barristan decided to go to the Sept after he would be relieved of his guarding and to light seven candles, just to be sure.

Jon Arryn PoV

Robert was bellowing his questions and his brother was barely civil while he read aloud of every ever mentioned marriage between Baratheons and Lannisters from the great book that a quick and sharpminded Courtier brought earlier to the King.

Jon himself would like to finally get some sleep, the last night before all seven hells opened up because of these new revelations, but the Baratheon brothers were barely civil while other people were in the same room with them together, he would hate to know how they would behave if they were alone in the room.

The Lord Hand closed his eyes and rued the day that he told the King to send for his niece.

To keep the marriage of the King and the Queen officially civil had been exhausting enough before the whole Baratheon family from Dragonstone arrived but now, after little Shireen spoke innocently about so many things that no one ever even dared to talk about, now all disguise of the real situation of the Royal marriage was useless.

And now Robert grew more and more agitated with every marriage that they found in the large Book about the noble families of Westeros and Stannis started to grind his teeth more and more in reaction.

Jon Arryn thought to himself how Tywin Lannister would react to all that and felt himself growing cold.


	15. Chapter 15 Thoughts of two Baratheons

His daughter had been meant to be murdered here in this rotten and corrupt Palace of his own brother. His daughter, his only child was meant to die from poison here.

Lord Stannis Baratheon gnashed his teeth together till his jaws hurt while he thought about these things. Ser Barristan told his tale after he arrived in the Solar of the Hand with Shireen by his side. The Kingsguard was a careful man and had wanted to guard Stannis's daughter inside the family's own rooms but as the White Guard told his King, the Hand and Lord Stannis himself, little Lady Shireen had asked him to bring her to her father and that was what Ser Barristan then did.

And now, Stannis thought to himself, now he was sitting here with his daughter by his side, his already drunk brother sitting opposite of him and the Lord Hand sitting between them, grewing paler with each of Ser Barristans words.

For it was only the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard who told what happened, Shireen was quiet. His daughter said nothing and just leaned close to him. Lord Stannis was not a man that was used to give anyone hugs, he could admit that to himself but in this moment, he hugged his daughter close to himself. Stannis enjoyed it to feel her in his arms, alive and breathing and warm. His daughter, his heir.

He just wanted to ask the Kingsguard a question about any possible proofs about the person behind this attempt on Shireens life , when Robert heaved himself out of his chair, stumbled a bit but then stepped forward to his White Guard.

"You tell me that someone wanted to do this to my niece?" And the bitch that brought that did not even told the name after she swallowed the poison? Why didn't you forced her then, heh?"

"Yes your Grace." answered the White Guard. He did not say why he did nothing to force a confession out of the servant woman though.

The King turned to his brother and his niece and narrowed his eyes slightly but then turned back to his Lord Commander and gave order to search the whole Keep for any proofs.

Lord Baratheon of Dragonstone felt thankful and annoyed at the same time, the most thoughts were about Shireen herself though and how he as her father would protect her from everything here in this treacherous Keep.

And so both, Lord Arryn and Stannis nodded to the King's command even though they knew that whoever had planned this murder attempt was surely smarter thab the servant woman and had likely made all proofs disappear before they could be found.

"No."

All men looked to the small girl after she had spoken that word.

"No, just ignore this now. All four of you have to forget it for now. It would be better if all your bastards would come here, your Grace, as soon as possible, here into the Red Keep and live with us all."

She looked up to her father and then to the King and then to her father again.

All of them looked to the small girl and she just looked solemnly into each of the four men's faces.

"No, don't search for the people behind the poison either but let them come to me instead. Let those who want to see me dead, come close again and make a new attempt and then stop them then."

All the men looked with shock to the small girl after hearing these words.

And her reaction got her Uncle thinking later about all which had happened in the last few days.

This girl unnerved him for she got him thinking, she got him to remember that he had children outside of this damned Keep.

And she got him thinking about the children that the goldenhaired bitch had born him, his legal children and heirs who all three looked nothing like him. Well at least the younger two ones were nicely behaving ones, the oldest one came clearly after his bitch of a mother.

But all three had really nothing from him and he started to wonder if Stannis 's little girl had unknowingly spoke of something that smelled like the betraying golden shits and their games.

He scoffed at the thought of Stannis and his girl. Bloody serious, just like her father, this little girl was. Healed by the Gods if Stannis told the truth about that and he reminded himself that his younger brother was never shy of speaking the truth, no matter how unpleasant or how misplaced it was.

Alright, the girl came after her father in that, just like she came after him lookswise even with her mother's ears. Shame for the little girl though that her father was such an ugly fuck.

Hahahaha...

She came after her father lookswise, just like he and her father and Renly came after their father and just like his girl back in the Vale and the boy he had made in Stannis's wedding bed, came after him, the King himself.

And the children of the goldenhaired bitch had nothing from him, nothing.

He crushed the cup in his hands, it was empty anyways and he thought of how he would crush the neck of his wife if the thoughts that now entered his mind, showed themselves to be true.  
If she really cuckolded him...if she really did that and not only once but often enough for three children born that came not from him, then he would slaughter every Lion he could get his hands on.

He felt the bloodlust awakened again in his body, he fletched his teeth and felt alive again. Like back then, back when he killed the damned Dragon, he felt his pulse racing and his heart beating with power, like when he was young and fighting for his life and for Lyanna.

She wouldn't have betrayed him, he knew that, she wouldn't have done what this Lionbitch did to him.

He roared his bloodlust out into the empty room and his fists smashed everything around him. If the bitch and her goldshitting father had really betrayed him then he would grind their bones to Pulp like he did with Lyanna's murderer.

His was the Fury and he felt alive again.


	16. Chapter 16 A Warrior

Ser Rolland Storm had been kneeling in front of the Statue of the Warrior for hours now, kneeling and praying. Trying to understand the changes, trying to understand what had happened to him. Trying to understand the dreams which had plagued him nearly every night for a fortnight now but for all his prayers, he had still not found an answer.

His trueborn brother had told him to pray to the Father or the Crone and not only to the Warrior but he had always been a true follower of the Warrior and no prayers came over his lips for any of the other six. His legs would not even bent themselves properly in front of the others, for he was so used to follow only the rules of one and not all of the Sevens.

But slowly now, he was reaching the end of his hope for answers and his hope for the dreams to stop. He had never been a dreaming man, not even as a lad had he ever truly known himself to dream at night or to remember anything of it if he did so. And he had never been a daydreamer, not even when he had been barely out of his swaddling clothes.

He had always known were he was standing in his life and what he could possibly achieve and what not, he had always known what his duty was and he had always been secure in the knowledge that the Warrior was the one he should and would praying to.

But now, now he dreams for a fortnight, dreams of things which he never heard or seen before, dreams of people whose names he had heard of but never met at all. And these dreams were turning every night more intense and he felt everything of what in them to him, he had woken up the last couple of nights, with the smell of smoke in his nose, the smoke from the burning ships and the burning men. He had woken up with the Screams of all who died such a death or were hurt in such a way in the countless ships on the burning Blackwater. He had woken up with the face of Edric Storm in front of his eyes, the Bastard of the King who was grewing up in Storm 's End and who he had never seen in his life, only in his strange dreams.

He had woken up in his bed in Nightsong and needed many a moments to understand that he wasn't on Dragonstone anymore, that he wasn't fighting as Castell an against the Siege anymore, that he wasn't overseeing the mining of Dragonglass anymore. All things which he never done in all his years for real but which he all did in his dreams.

A damn fortnight now with such uncommon and disturbing dreams and he felt himself grewing tired even in the daytime hours and his eyes had heavy bags under them, dark like bruises, he found himself restless too at the same time and no matter of long he kneeled, no matter how hard he prayed, no matter how many candles he lit in front of the Warrior, he found no answers, no rest and his mind just never calmed down.

Behind himself , he heard his trueborn brother entering the Sept. Bryce was slowly walking closer to him and then he kneeled down beside him and stared up to the statue of the Warrior.

Neither of the two brothers spoke a word, trueborn not nor bastard born. They both were just kneeling in front of the Warrior, praying and looking for answers the one and searching for strength the other.

Finally Bryce, the Lord Caron of Nightsong stood up in one fluid motion and stretched himself. He looked down to his half-brother and asked him to finally stand up too. Ser Rolland Storm did so and then, when both men were standing in the midst of the Sept, the Lord looked into the pox marked face of his halfbrother and gave a lopsided smile.

"Do you know Rolland, that your face looks less scarred since the last couple of days? It seems that for whatever reason, that whatever makes you pray for hours every day now, that whatever causes you to look like you are never ever really sleeping anymore, is also caused all the deep pockmarks to smooth out and for your scars to grew less fierce."

The Bastard of Nightsong looked startled at his Lord 's and brother's words, this was not something that he had ever expected to hear from Bryce. The younger man though looked into his illegitimate brothers face once more and then he nodded slightly. Lord Bryce Caron then trusted his left hand into his jerkin and tugged out a small, rolled up piece of paper which he then gave to his half-brother.

"Read this Rolland, it just came with the Raven from House Wensington and tell me what you think. There are strange things happening everywhere now, or so it seems like right now."

Ser Rolland Storm unrolled the message and while he was quickly reading everything, he felt himself grewing ever more anxious.

" Lord Wensington writes of the impossibility to enter Storm 's End, that all birds fly around the Keep, that no Ravens leave the Keep and that those animals outside will not enter and those inside will not step outside. He writes that Lord Renly is unconscious for many a day now and that the whole Keep hears sounds like a deep heartbeat and that there are runes everywhere. Has old Lord Wensington lost the last bits of mind? "

" He seemed to have sent this to every House of the Stormlands though, so I doubt that he is entirely sure about what he had written. And I had also received a nearly identical letter from the Conningtons and this is where you are coming in now. You, Rolland will ride to Storm 's End with twenty Guards and while you are on your way, either your dreams will lessen or, if you are lucky, you maybe might finally find the reason for them and can finally find peace again. Either way, you will go there in my Name and I am sure that you will not be the only one who will go to our Lord Paramount. "

" With their Ravens not leaving Storm 's End, they would most likely be unable to inform the King about the Situation. "replied Ser Rolland.

Lord Caron agreed but the half brothers decided to think about the King when they would know what had happened in the Baratheons Keep.

Ser Rolland Storm left Nightsong barely two hours later with twenty guards and they were riding fast. The first night away from Nightsong was the first one since a fortnight, which Ser Storm slept peacefully and without dreams.

After that though, the dreams returned not only in the night but also during the daytime.


	17. Chapter 17 Mother, Father, Crone

A Mother

...

The clearness of her mind returned to her in the morning of the day at which she was meant to leave Pike and to be brought back to Harlaw, to live with her brother and sister and to regain her lost strength.

But she refused to leave on that morning, she straightened herself and lifted her chin stubbornly and refused to step onboard of the ship which would take her to the Island of her birth. Her husband looked at her as uninteresting irritation but then again, he had never thought much of her as a wife in all their years of marriage. She had always been useful for him because of her family and because she gave him heirs but otherwise, she was just a woman to him.

And then, when he did his useless and bloody thoughtless rebellion, she had lost first her two oldest boys to death and her last boy to the winners and then her mind and thus she became even more uninteresting to him.

But now, now her mind was awake again and she remembered the years wandering around barefoot in her damned husbands Keep and she also remembered things that she should have no knowledge about. Things which seemed to have happened but in the future.

At first, see thought herself still sad and mad and with her mind numbed and in illusions, only now of a different kind. The first few days, she still had thought about these strange memories as dreams of an more punishing way against her family but after a couple of days, these thoughts passed and as she felt her mind ever more clearer and her body slowly growing stronger, she accepted that these strange memories of a future time were given to her as a warning.

And in the last few days, she thought to herself that such a warning, such a knowledge could maybe even used to change some things, so that other things would change too.

Her daughter, her only remaining Child here, had once more came back from a tour and had been astonished that she, her mother, had been well in mind and getting better in body and her daughter had been joyful for that, in her own slightly rough ways.

Lady Alannys decided on that morning to test her thoughts about changing some of the things of the future memories, if not for her own gains but then at least to do the best to protect her girl.

One of the strange memories were of what her brother had told her from a future time, about the brothers of her husband and Euron, the thrice damned and most evil minded of them at the most.

She remembered that about a moon after she had arrived on Harlaw, Euron had been banned by her husband for what he did to Victarion's woman and how Victarion raged against that but accepted her husband's will. And then, many years later in the future, Euron had returned and destroyed her family even more. And she herself, well her memories had showed her that she was still trapped in her mind and mostly frail body on Harlaw and thus useless to save her girl and her turned boy.

But now she had those memories of years in the future and she had still sixteen days left to the time of when her husband would ban Euron and thus let her dangerous goodbrother escape the real punishment that he deserved.

She decided to use this knowledge, to make sure that her children would not have to endure what the future memories had shown her. No, she would make sure that Balon Greyjoy and all his cursed brothers wouldn't endanger her last children, wouldn't hurt her girl in anyway.

Would it make her a kinslayer, she asked herself for a moment. But then Alannys shrugged, straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath to calm herself. Her mind felt balanced at the thoughts and she banished any thoughts of guilt from her heart.

She would make sure that her direct kin would protected from her husband's evil and dangerous blood and that would of course mean that she would be a kinslayer of the kin of her children but her girl and her faraway boy would thus be protected from all evil kin by their father's side in the future and that would be good enough for her, Alannys herself.

Yes, she would make sure that her children would be protected from the evilness of their father and uncles.

It was a mother's duty after all to protect her children by all means necessary

...

A Father

...

It had started nearly a footnote ago that his world changed for him and those he hold dearest to him.  
He had been mock fighting his former squire, Daemon Sand who he had knighted himself when it happened the first time to him. Daemon had suddenly stopped the training and mock fighting and looked at him with eyes full of horror and shock.

"My Prince, stop. Stop fighting my Prince, I must have hit you somewhere hard on your head. You are bleeding heavily. Don't you feel any pain?" Daemon had asked him full of worry.

But he hadn't felt any pain, only the rush of a good fight . Nonetheless they stopped and he left the training ground to go to his rooms to clean himself as he must truly looked awful by Daemon's reaction.

While he was on his way to the rooms he shared with Ellaria, everyone who he passed looked at him like he was a beast from Sothorys or to be more exact like something that escaped such a beast.  
He could see worry and shock in everyone's eyes and it had started to worry him.

And then, when he arrived in his rooms, well the reaction which greeted him there was the worst one. Ellaria saw him and screamed like nothing he had ever heard. Her screams were full of anguish and sorrow and pain.

She was nearly running towards him then, her hands were touching his head, stroking along his cheeks and his lips and carefully fluttering over his lids. When she saw that he just stared at her, she then tugged him with her towards the table where her mirror was laying upon and then he looked at his own face in the mirror.

His whole head was bloody, blood was coming slowly from his eyes and out of his mouth and nose and also sluggishly from his head.

He cleaned himself with Ellarias help and halfway through the cleaning then the rush of first the fight and then the shock left him and he finally felt pain. He took a potion of his own stock and something to sleep and then Ellaria started to softly sing for him as she did normaly for their daughters and he finally could rest.

In that night he dreamed things he had not lived through, of future times and events he had known not to have happened and of his last fight for the first time and he woke from it with a gurgling scream if tortured pain. Ellaria was by his side and he heard that from everywhere people came running towards his rooms. Sleep eluded him for hours then.

It only got worse from there on and he kept interrupting everyone's life around him too unwillingly, night and day.  
For in the nights he woke up screaming and during the days his body and especially his head started to suddenly show signs of horrible torturous proceedings but whenever he had finished washing the blood away, then his face was whole again and all which looked destroyed and with blood on was then looking whole and undisturbed again.

It was a horror for all around him during these days and Ellaria had made sure that their young daughters were all far away from him, so that they would not be shocked.

For him though, for him the nights were worse than the days. He dreamed of years still to come, of dead Stags, executed Wolves and false Lion Kings. He dreamed of poison and then every dream ended with him fighting the murderous mountainlike Monster who had murdered Elia.

And every dream ended with the confession of the Monster and than with his, Oberyn's painful death. Crushed teath and gorged out eyes included. The last thing he always heard then before he woke up drenched in sweat and still feeling all the pain, were Ellaria's screams.

It had to end. Nearly a fortnight now of nights like these, of bloodfilled days with disappearing wounds, of terrorfilled nights and always the same endings of his dreams.  
It was enough now, not only for him but he could see that those around him could not endure this much longer too.

He would go to where his life always ended in his dreams. Maybe he could than finally find out the reason for them.

And so Prince Oberyn Martell left for King's Landing after a fortnight of torturous dreams and awful days. Ser Daemon Sand and a few more Dornishmen accompanied him but he had asked Ellaria to stay at Home with their daughters and the rest of his family.

If he really would die in that godsbedamned City then he did not want Ellaria to have to watch that.

But he hoped not for death, only for answers. And maybe to find a way to destroy Gregor Cleagane without dying himself.

To King's Landing then, to the Stag who stepped over Elia's broken body and those of her children to climb the ugly throne. To the Lion's den and the fat Stag and hopefully it will end with answers and dead opponents only.

...

A Crone

...

She woke up in her bed in Ironoaks, as she had done for most of her life. This time though she woke up with the vague and nebulous remains of her last night's dream clinging heavily as a shadow on her consciousness through the whole day.

Her youngest boy, Wallace looked at her with an uncomfortable look in his eyes at the evening meal and she briefly wondered if she behaved different throughout the day.

The dreams came back to her in the night, clearer and more realistic too. When she forced herself awake in the morning, she actually remembered real bits and scenes but they made no real sense to her still and she felt as if her mind was searching for more information the whole day, because she simply could not concentrate on the most simple things.

It went worse during the next couple of days, at night her dreams showed her things about people she knew, some she despised, some she respected or even liked and during the days she barely managed to stay awake any longer.

All her sons and other family members grew desperately concerned about her but then came the day, after the most detailed dream ever for her, the day on which she woke up and told her sons to make ready of a heavily guarded transportation for her.

All looked at hers like she spoke in riddles but she only told them to make sure that she would have enough guards and other necessities ready in two hours.

She must go to King's Landing and the Lord Hand, their own Highest Lord of the Vale, Jon Arryn himself.

Her sons tried to make her she reason but she just starred at them with her deeply circled eyes, signs that her last couple of nights and days had been troubling and she told her sons once more in a steely Voice now, that they should organize all necessities and enough Guards for her to reach Gulltown.

Two and a half hour later, Lady Anya Waynward left Ironoaks with her second son and thirty Guards.

She hoped that they all would reach the Harbor City without any problems, she really needed to reach the Capitol as soon as possible and then she would need to tell the Lord Hand quite a bit of rather unfortunate but none the less much needed informations.

...

...


	18. Chapter 18 A Smith and a Maiden

A Smith.

... ...

He was near Maidenpool, sleeping in the shadow of old hedges, when the dreams came to him.  
At first, they started like all the other dreams he had in the long Years after the War, in the long Years after he had to bury his brothers and friends.

Soon though, soon these dreams turned from the known, the remembered fighting and making graves for known faces, to new and often unknown faces, to unknown slaughterd people, to horribly raped and tortured and mutilated bodies, Women, Girls but also Men and Boys.

In his dreams he wandered through the Riverlands, the parts which he knew like the back of his own hands but also the regions beyond.

And the Riverlands were bathed in Blood, the Trident was red red red...

He woke up with tears streaming from his eyes and heavily panting as if he had run for his life.

Dog was besides him, yowling loudly and in between the yowling he growled towards the open ways near the Hedges.

Meribald sat up with a pained groan, his mind still shocked, his left hand went soothingly a few times over Dog's head and the growling and yowling slowly stopped.

Dog turned towards Meribald, his snout bumped against the human's hand and then his large rough tongue slipped out of his maw and licked Meribalds hand gently, as if Dog wanted to help his human to calm down too.

Still, human and dog stayed a little longer in the shadow of their sleeping area underneath the Hedges than they normally would do, Meribald still not understanding what he had now dreamed and still shocked from the horror of it and Dog seemingly feeling too protective of his human companion as if to search for his own food.

The sun was already halfway up in the Sky when Septon Meribald and Dog finally went on their way and throughout the day, the Septon did his work as he always did when being with others.  
When the evening turned to night, he was tired enough to lay himself down in a small barn and to be already asleep before his head even hit the warm straw.  
Dog was laying down besides him, warm and protecting.

This night, he dreamed not anymore at all of the War from long time ago, not of brothers and friends freshly buried, no this time he dreamed only of the Riverlands bathed in Blood, the Trident pure red and the slaughtered, mutilated and raped bodies.  
Too many bodies too count for him.  
And from far away, he saw riders coming closer, the largest of them having three dogs on yellow as his banner.  
And with each breath, the riders were coming closer and closer and even the already dead bodies on the grounds seemed to shiver in fear.

And then, other riders were coming from the left and the carried the golden Lion on Red and meet with the three dogs and were then riding together.

From the right, riders came with the banners of the Riverlands and with grey banners with Wolves and countless others.

And slightly afar from these banners came curiously looking men on striped horses.

All of the riders seemed to be riding towards him but then it was as if he, Meribald wasn't even there, for the Riders of the opposite directions crashed into each other and started to slaughter each other and then Meribald woke up in cold sweat, shivering and crying and he turned his head to the side and vomited the modest meal he had enjoyed just as few hours ago thanks to the small farmer in whose barn he had been sleeping.

Dog was already licking his hands and face soothingly but Meribald noticed that Dog himself seemd to shiver.

Throughout the following days it for worse.

The Septon did his daily deeds and his nights got evermore worse, the same seemed to be true for his dog.

Then, after nearly half a moon of such days and nights, Meribald met a bargeman who was telling in a modest Inn by the River about the young daughter of the younger brother of the King and how he, the bargeman himself had seen in the City that the famously stoney face was healed and smooth and that the Lady Shireen was known to be blessed by the Gods.

The bargeman told how the young Lady had been giving blessings and how she blessed flowers and gave them to the poorest of the smallfolk and how quite a few of the people swore then that they felt healthier and stronger after receiving such a blessed gift.

Meribald closed his eyes while he listened to the bargeman but as soon as they were closed, Meribalds mind was once more filled with Terror and Blood and so he opened the lid again, fixed his gaze on the bargeman and made up his mind.

For the first time since the War, he would leave the Riverlands and he would go to the City and maybe he would find peace if he would see the young blessed Lady Shireen.

Dog licked his right hand as if he had heard the thoughts and was agreeing with them.

... ...

A Maiden

...

**This Chapter is dark!**

**It includes hints of vile perversions!**

**While I told what happened to the other persons who are the living embodiments, I like to believe that no one of us fans of this fandom found my descriptions too horrible.**

**THe embodiment of the Maiden though, she is not as easy to write about, because she will have it the hardest to live with her "dreams" as she is the only Child among the living embodiments of the Seven and she has had one of the most cruel and horror inducing fates in Canon ASOIAF. **

...  
She often had dreamed about nice things, like pretty dresses and since she had her tenth namesday a few moons ago, she also started to dream about a future nice wealthy Lord as husband, sometimes even about Robb Stark himself.

She had told Sansa about her dreams of the nice dresses and nice Lords as future husband, though she of course never told her friend that her's, Sansa 's brother was one of the nice Lords in her dreams, she never told Sansa that she, Jeyne sometimes dreamed of becoming Robb' s wife in a couple of years and then the future Lady of Winterfell.

It would not be proper to speak about Robb with Sansa and it would be even less proper to do so as the daughter of the mere steward of Winterfell, but Jeyne also knew that deep down in her heart, Robb Stark would always be her dream husband.

But now, over the last two nights, her dreams had changed. In the first strange night, she had dreamed that the Royal family will be visiting Winterfell in a few years and that Bran, Sansa's younger brother will fall from the broken Tower and be nearly dead afterwards. She had woken up crying from this Dream, even though little Bran was never interesting to her, but she felt so disturbed by the image of the broken little boy that she had told Sansa and Septa Mordane and even Lady Stark about it during the morning meal.

Arya, Sansa's awful and ugly sister had made fun of her Dream but Lady Stark had looked into hers, Jeyne's eyes and told her that she was a good girl to be concerned about Bran.

Then, Lady Stark had wrapped her arms around little Bran and had vowed that the broken Tower would be teared down, for if even she, young Jeyne, dreamed of such an accident to happen, it was better to be safe than sorry and Lord Stark had promised it to his wife.

Jeyne felt a bit proud of herself then, because Lady Stark was taking her, a girl of ten namedays, seriously enough and Sansa later, while they both were sitting together with the Septa and were doing their needlework, asked her to tell everything she remembered from the Dream, not so much of Bran's fall but more the Royal family.

And Jeyne did so gladly, she told of fat the King was and how beautiful the Queen and how handsome Prince Joffrey and all the other little things she remembered. The Septa told her finally to stop talking about her Dream and to concentrate more on the needlework.

Jeyne's next night was filled with a Dream of the journey to King's Landing and of a Tourney with a handsome Lord and a dead Knight and Sansa being the fiancee of Prince Joffrey.

This time, Jeyne told Sansa only that she had dreamed about Sansa being Prince Joffrey's intended and about the Capitol. She told nothing about the deaths during the journey, nor the dead Knight at the Tourney for all these details disturbed her a bit.

Nonetheless, she and Sansa giggled a bit about Sansa as future bride and Sansa told her Mother and the Septa that she was happy that her best friend was dreaming of such a nice future for her.  
Only Arya, who had heard that comment too, scoffed quite a bit about "nice Dreams and wishful futures" but then, who cared about what little Horseface said. Certainly not Jeyne and her best friend Sansa, not even little Beth Cassel who had listened too.

Jeyne felt good about herself, the dreams the last two days had been so interesting, though the deaths had been hard to see in the second Dream, but besides that, she hoped for more dreams to come.

It seemed so real after all, the Pomp of the Queen and all the interesting things in King's Landing.  
Jeyne hoped that she would one day in the future see it all in Reality and if it would then be like her dreams.

These were her last thoughts before she fell asleep then.

This Dream had nothing nice in it though, nothing nice, only death. So much death.  
Lord Stark was wounded by the brother of the Queen and Jory Cassel was killed and the other Guards too and then the King was dead and Lord Stark became a Captive of the Queen and father...and father...and father was killed.  
Father was killed like all the other Stark men in the Red Keep.  
And she and Sansa were crying together and the Septa was dead too and Arya was surely dead too.

Jeyne woke up then, still crying fearful tears and screaming loudly. Father came hurriedly into her room and when he did not managed to get her to calm down, then the Septa came and then even Lady Stark and she talked so long to Jeyne that the screaming stopped and the tears dried up.

Jeyne told nothing about what she dreamed about this time, not to anyone. She only said that this time everything was bad.  
Sansa then pouted, for she would have loved to hear Jeyne's fantasy about the Prince and the Pomp but the Septa then said, that while a nice Dream was not something bad to fantasize about, that a Dream was still only a Dream.  
In good and in bad situations, a Dream was just a Dream.

These were Jeyne's thoughts when she went to bed at the evening.

She wouldn't wake up again for nine nights and days but instead stayed trapped in her nightmares.

Father was dead, all were dead and Lord Stark was in the Black Cells and was forced away from Sansa. And then she, Jeyne was given to Lord Baelish, a Lord she had met at the Tourney and this Lord Baelish took her to one of his houses and in this house there were Women and Girls and Boys selling their bodies.

Jeyne struggled as her clothes were stripped away from her body and she cried and she was so afraid. She screamed. Then people beat her without mercy, they beat her with fists and leather straps and she cried even harder and struggled but the more she struggled, the more they hurt her.

And then she was exhausted and could not struggle anymore and slowly the people who hurt her eased then their beating.

Jeyne was thankful for that. Maybe they would not hurt her anymore if she would not struggle and cry anymore? She forced herself to stay completely still even though her whole naked body hurt.

But then a couple of mean looking men came to her and they touched her body allover and said crude words to her.

She forced herself to stay still, for this was still not as hurtful as the beating before. But the men did not stop their touching and then one of the men shoved her legs wide apart and settled between them and he was unclothed too and he then hurt her badly by taking her last bit of innocence.

She started struggling again but the man handled her without a care and after him came countless others.

She lost count of the time, the men and hurtings done to her, she lost everything to the pain and just hoped for death and no more pain.

Then, an unknown long time later, when she thought she was numb as only deads could be, she was given to a man who started to make her feel again and feel more than even she now thought she had ever felt before.

He had shown her a broken and horrible looking Theon and he had forced her to have dogs doing things to her which she received before only from men.

He was her husband, her Lord and she was called Lady of Winterfell and Arya but she was not, she was not, she was not...

Her husband scared her and hurt her even more than all the men in Lord Baeslish's house ever had and her husband tortured her and he tortured Reek who was Theon but now was Reek and Lords and Ladies came and see her and heard her screams and her husband scared her so much that she tried everything to ever please him but nothing pleased him more than hurting her.

But then Reek, no Theon and she escaped and they were in the snow and they heard the dogs of her husband and she hoped to finally die, just to finally die.

She woke up. Screaming, crying, praying for death.  
She was finally really awake again.

Her room was crowded by Septa Mordane, by Lady Stark, by Maester Luwin, by father and by Old Nan, the old Storyteller.

She still screamed, she still cried and prayed for death.

Maester Luwin gave her medicine but she did not wanted to swallow it because Maester Luwin was dead and who was this man really?

But father hold her and Lady Catelyn did too and then Maester Luwin made her swallow the medicine. But how could that be when they all were dead ?

It took nearly five more days before Jeyne understood where she really was.

Her caretakers told her that she was asleep for nearly nine nights and days and that she screamed and cried and begged nearly the whole time, that she screamed of death and of torture and a cruel husband for most of the time.  
That she stayed in her horrible sleep the whole time, no matter ift her soiled body was cleaned or her sheets and nightshirts were changed, no matter if she was made to swallow small amounts of water or medicine, she never woke up for nearly nine days and nights.

But now she was awake again and only slept because of Maester Luwins medicine and only slept for a few hours then.

But she felt slowly better for she was in Winterfell, the good Winterfell, the one where all were alive and all were well and nothing happened if what she had felt and she was years younger.

Slowly she started to loose her fear that her husband was near her and just waiting for her to feel safe.

Sometimes Sansa was allowed to visit her but mostly it were Septa Mordane and Lady Stark and Maester Luwin who would sit with her for hours and hours and soothed her.

After a few more days, when she felt a bit better and calmer, Lady Stark and Lord Stark and father came to her and asked her if she would be able to talk about her Dreams, for much of what she screamed then, should be unknown to her.

She felt faint and fearful again but a tiny voice in her mind whispered that nothing of her Dreams would happen in the future if she would tell everything now.


End file.
